Real Madrid go top of La Liga with victory
Saturday 22 September 2018 22:27, UK
Marco Asensio's goal was enough to seal Real Madrid a 1-0 victory over Espanyol that lifted them to the top of La Liga.
Asensio's low angled finish shortly before half-time sealed Real a third straight home win, but they were far from convincing against dogged opponents.
Julen Lopetegui's side dismantled Champions League rivals Roma at the Bernabeu in midweek, but lacked the same fluency against Espanyol, for whom Borja Iglesias struck the crossbar in the second half.
Real forward Gareth Bale, a goalscorer in midweek, was an unused substitute at the Bernabeu on Saturday as Lopetegui rotated his squad.
Isco fluffed Real's first opening when his mistimed shot flew the wrong side of a post in the fifth minute.
Espanyol then spurned a gilt-edged chance soon after as Hernan Perez and Pablo Piatti combined inside the box, only for the latter to pull his low effort wide of Thibaut Courtois' left-hand post.
Then, four minutes before the break, Luka Modric's attempted shot from the edge of the area ricocheted through the legs of two visiting defenders straight to Asensio, who drilled a low angled shot in off the far post.
Real went in search of a second killer goal after the interval. Modric's drilled low shot was superbly saved in the bottom corner by Diego Lopez, while Isco and Casemiro both went close with efforts from outside the box.
But Espanyol continued to look dangerous when given half a chance. Borja Iglesias' shot was kept out by Courtois and a minute later the Espanyol forward struck the crossbar with another effort from outside the penalty area after Real skipper Sergio Ramos' dithered at the back.
Centre-back Ramos occasionally went AWOL in defence, but was almost rewarded for another foray forward when his header from Isco's cross drew another fine save from Lopez.
